Speed, mobiles blamed for 159 Emirati deaths

Emirati fatalities in road mishaps down 12.6% in 2011

Road accidents killed 159 Emiratis in 2011 and most of the mishaps were caused by excessive speed and use of mobile phones, a senior traffic official was reported on Wednesday as saying.

The deaths this year were nearly 12.6 per cent lower than in 2010, when 192 Emiratis died as a result of car accidents, said Brigadier Gaith Al Zaabi, director of the traffic coordination division at the Ministry of Interior.

“The accidents were mainly a result of high speed besides use of mobile phones, which detract at the attention of drivers,” he told the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Al-Bayan.

“Despite the drop in the number of casualties, our ambition is still to slash these numbers and create better awareness among drivers about the risks of reckless driving on their lives.”